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How @sunkissedyogi kicked her addictions

An interview with the inspiring Paige Rene, Instagram’s @sunkissedyogi

1.Where did your passion for yoga start?

I discovered yoga when I was 23 and through it I was able to kick an eating disorder that consumed my entire existence for almost a decade and get off all prescriptions I had been prescribed and abused. After failing through 3 recovery stints, yoga was the only thing that made any sense to me, yoga never asked me to change, yoga held a space for me to realize that I don’t need love from an external source but rather that I am love and the only love that matters is the love that I have for myself.

2.What type of yoga do you teach?

I teach Vinyasa and Yin Yoga. Vinyasa means to “move in a special way”. I like to think that as I teach it is almost as if I am choreographing a dance, every movement links to the next with the assistance of the breath, it is through fluid movement that a person can begin to shed the layers that build throughout the day, be free and truly see themselves.

Yin Yoga is basically the opposite, long restorative postures sometimes supported with yoga props. When I teach I tend to focus on the hips and shoulders, this is where I hold a lot of sadness, anger and past trauma, it is through the long holds that the body softens, and the past is released. These emotional releases have led to some of my greatest physical gains in my practice. Holding poses for several minutes at a time forces you to sit with the sometime uncomfortable mind stuff that shows up, and if you can observe what shows up without judgement that’s when the “letting go” begins.

3.Anything that moved you emotionally in your career?

I was teaching mindfulness to a group of 6th graders and after my 8 weeks were up with my kiddos, one of the girls walked up to me and said, “because of you I have stopped mutilating myself, thank you for everything that you’ve helped to teach us and the stories about yourself that you’ve shared.” I was floored, one because she used the word “mutilating” rather than cutting or anything else she could have said, and two because she hadn’t really said much of anything to me before that. I forget that there is power in silence, and that I am truly impacting the people I have the pleasure of teaching every single day whether I am concisely aware or not.

4.What do you believe is the core of yoga?

Mindfulness – or paying attention on purpose. When we slow down enough to be present everything else that is negative and overwhelming seems to take the back seat, even if only for a moment life doesn’t seem so hard when you have the chance to catch your breath and just be.

5.What advice do you have for those starting to practice?

Patience, compassion and personal accountability will be key in the beginning. It is an incredibly challenging practice, no one will do the work for you, and the only limitations that you have are the ones that you place upon yourself. Everyone steps on to the mat for different reasons, everyone starts off in different places and has different work to do, honor that. Simply allow yourself to be where you are as you are, make yourself uncomfortable and try new and different things, you might surprise yourself.

6.Lastly, what do believe is the key to happiness?

I read Michael Singers “Surrender Experiment” and it changed my life. So much of why we suffer is because we are attached, to people, jobs, outcomes, etc. In the book Michael asks the reader to simply surrender. To say yes more often and rather than putting all of your energy into forcing something to happen, just let life happen and trust that no matter what you do or don’t do everting is happening as it is supposed to. When you release the need to control, which has always been my biggest struggle, everything gets a whole lot easier, including being happy.

Paige has been teaching yoga for the past 6 years. She infuses her knowledge of manifestation into her classes for a mindful, intentional, and playful flow. We are super excited to have her leading our yoga sessions at our Retreat to Maldives this November and for her to be part of Island Spa Retreats team where her beautiful smile and positive vibes will be radiating through the group.